"The right man in the wrong place can make all the difference in the world."

- G-Man, Half-Life 2

Devil Is A Part Timer

Devil is a Part Timer was released in 2013 as a fantasy/comedy based on the light novels written by Satoshi Wagahara. The anime itself was produced by White Fox and directed by Naoto Hosada, it consists of 13 episodes which aired between April 4th and June 27th 2013. The opening theme song is Zero by Minami Kuribayashi where as the ending theme song changes in a few episodes to a couple of other tracks.

Synapsis

Devil is a Part Timer is all about a devil from another world who is in fact Satan, who along with his General is forced to flee to the human world through a portal which lands them in modern day Japan. This causes issues for their magic and it begins to deplete which forces them to try and live mundane human lives in order to survive the human world. Unbeknownst to them, the hero who made them flee followed them through the portal and is also affected and her magic begins to deplete as well. She sets out to get justice on Satan for his evil ways and believes he canít have changed and that he must be planning on doing some dastardly thing but due to circumstances that happen and the now mortal danger they face they are forced to become allies.

To blend in to modern day Japan, Satan and his general Alciel rent a small flat and Alciel becomes a stay at home guy performing menial house work and shopping while Satan becomes the breadwinner and gets the typical young boy job of working in a fast food chain. Watching their day to day life, even the small tasks they perform and how they try to blend in with the world around them, is thoroughly entertaining and enjoyable. You kind of see the world from the outside looking in, the struggles they have to adapt to and them learning new things is interesting and humorous.

Characters

Sadao Maou/Satan Jacob

Our main protagonist is Satan - Jacob the Demon Lord from Ente Isla who was forced to flee his home through a portal that took him to modern day Japan. He ended up having to get a mortal job in order to fit in and survive due to his magical powers draining too quickly, he gets a job in a fast food restaurant. To regain his power for brief periods he must feed off of peoples despair but instead of using his powers for evil he only does good deeds trying to prove he has changed and no longer wishes to be an evil Demon Lord.

Shiro Ashiya/Alciel

Alciel is Satans General who follows him through the portal and becomes a sort of house wife doing jobs around the house for Satan while he works - cooking, cleaning and shopping along with other things. He spends the majority of his free time trying to research ways to regain their power, he also has an awful trait where he is extremely money cautious to the point he will make himself ill or do something reckless in order to save them money and not make any waste such as throwing away food that is spoiling. He is a peculiar character being extremely loyal to Satan and wanting to please him in as many ways as possible, showing him his undying fealty. Seeing Alciels mannerisms does make you wonder how he could possibly survive in the human world, he doesn't adapt easily to the world and knows very little although he does try to educate himself, he doesn't enjoy relaxing very much either and always makes himself busy.

Emi Yusa/ Emilia Justina

The Heroine of our story, she faces Satan on Ente Isla. She is the reason Satan flees his land and takes off through the portal, she follows him through to make sure he doesn't survive. Her vengeful mission is based off a past incident in which Emiliaís father was killed in an incident involving Satan and she vows to kill him to bring justice to her fathers death. She has to assume a job in the modern day Japan in a call center to which she blends in extremely well, fitting in to the world nicely due to the fact she has a human mother. When looking at Emilia you wouldn't have any idea she was from another world, she understands humans and how they work and how to blend in so no-one notices her on her day to day search for Satan.

Opinion

My opinion of Devil is a Part Timer is if you enjoy the likes of Overlord, Noragami or Blood Lad, if you enjoy comedy or characters trying to go against who they are meant to be or their normal stereotype then this anime is definitely for you. It may be short but it is thoroughly enjoyable and entertaining to watch, I found myself laughing regularly, feeling a lot for the characters and wanting to see how their stories turned out and trying to find out if Satan was in fact able to change his spots and become something good instead. Seeing Satan as a young adult instead of an all powerful being was a refreshing change for the way Satan and demons are usually portrayed, I would happily watch this anime again or read through the manga's to see where the story carries on.